A Baby's Hat **UPDATED**

It's been a while since I've posted something crafty, so when better than a happy *sunny!* Sunday morning to do so? There are many many babies being born around me! In fact since 2010 began 2 have been born, 3 have continued to cook, 3 more have been announced! Yep seven of my friends are or have been recently pregnant (one friend, Dana is carrying twins.) Lots and lots of joy is all around - and I really like to make something personal for each of my friends. However, I also needed something that was a bit faster on the creation side of things. With 6 more babies on the way - goodness that's a lot of crafting. :)

So I went on the hunt for something cute and my first stop was Ravelry.com - which if you have not heard of this website - it is a must for every knitter and crocheter out there. There is a lot you can do with the site from storing project ideas, to posting progress of your own. I find that it is an excellent site to find GREAT free patterns - and so I went on the hunt for a baby hat. I wanted something a bit different than the standard beanie - and I found a fellow crocheter that had a great pattern. Sorry, I can't post it directly on here - because she asked nicely for us not to, but here is the link to her Ravelry page. I think you have to join to view it - but it is really worth it, I promise!

This hat, after I got the pattern down, takes only a few hours. I usually can complete it within one day - depending on Ace's independence. I made a prototype using not 'baby' yarn - and it turned out great. Here is Kyler modeling it for me in the 'newborn' or 'small' size. It actually worked really well to keep the sun out of his eyes. I call that a successful design!

After I established that I had made it 'long' enough for a newborn - I then moved onto the yarn that I had bought specifically for this project: Bernat Softee Baby Yarn in Mango - ultimately I would not use this again for this project. While it turned out ok - a denser yarn that I used for the prototype would be far superior - so that's my learned tip with this project. Find a thicker yarn!

I chose to make Carrie's little girl a 'medium' hat - since she'll be born in June in So Cal. Not much need for a hat in the summer months there. I also made a tiny newborn hat using the same pattern, but I left off the brim of the hat - and I used Bernat Soft Boucle Yarn in Soft Rose. This yarn worked out great for a little newborn beanie! I was actually happier with that hat than my originally intended project. However, I gave Carrie the brimmed hat anyway - although I think I'll make her another one with thicker yarn too :) The pattern also has instructions on how to make a little flower to add to it - and I find it to be just darling. My bear as a model looked pretty cute with it on.


Updated on 7/1/10 - Baby Avery sporting the 'Soft Rose' infant hat I made.